This is not an easy reflection for me. The only experiences that I have in the classroom in the teacher role are from this program so I can only conjecture as to students that will fit these categories. I do think that I should come back to this later, when I've been teaching for a while, and see how it compares to reality.
Kids you find it easy to like:
I find it easy to like kids who have an easy smile, who are respectful, and who are interested in what is going on in class. These are the kids that let you in and are ready and willing to interact with me.
Kids you find it hard to like:
The kids for this are really the ones who won't let you in. The kids who don't want to try. The kids who are disrespectful, both to themselves and to others.
Kids you are sorry for:
The kids who fall under this category are the ones that have challenges that are out of their control. Examples are things like homelessness, poverty, "home issues", and things like learning disabilities. Students have enough work to do and enough challenges in their lives that they don't need extra things to make it more difficult.
Kids you feel threatened by:
I don't think that there are any kids that I will feel threatened by. I suppose, if I were in a really hard school, then I might be worried about personal safety. Hard school being one that has a history of violence.
Kids you identify with:
These kids will be much like the ones that I find easy to like. I was one of the students that was respectful and interested. I did my work, on time, and to the best of my abilities.
Kids you gravitate toward:
Hard for me to differentiate, again, between this and the kids that I find it easy to like and identify with. I do think that, to some extent, that I will also gravitate towards the ones that are being more challenged by the class to try to give them the extra support to help them succeed.
Kids you feel inadequate around:
The ones that I think that I'll feel inadequate around are going to be the ones that I can't figure out what to do with. Kids that have learning or developmental issues that I don't really know how to reach or relate to.
Kids you probably don't even notice:
I hope that there won't be any kids that I won't notice. I suppose that some of the quiet, unassuming kids that are doing well in the class might fly under the radar a bit. They won't need any extra help, but with the numbers of kids it might be hard for me to go out of my way to seek them out, if nothing else but because of the demands on my time by the other kids.
So important to be aware of our biases for or against students. I agree that students who have tremendous needs outside of the classroom can be challenging to work with. Difficult to get a sense of how much their outside life is influencing their school work. Difficult to know what to do if it is.
ReplyDeleteYes! the students that we can not figure out will be ones that make us feel inadequate. through this class I keep thinking, what if? what if I cant connect with a student. They cause problems and I can not make a connection to better the situation. I respect the openness you showed. This assignment was tough for me as well.
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